After creating a viral online petition for a bridge between Vestal and Endwell, a Vestal Real Estate broker made his plea to local officials in person.

Robert Potochniak, a licensed Real Estate broker at EXIT Realty in Vestal, held a meeting Monday at EXIT Realty to discuss the building of a Vestal-Endwell Gateway Bridge.

Attendees included State Senator Fred Akshar, Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo, Town of Union Supervisor Rose Sotak, Regional Director of Region 9 of the Department of Transportation Jack Williams, and Region 9 Public Information Officer for the New York State Department of Transportation David Hamburg.

Town of Vestal Supervisor John Schaffer was invited but did not attend the meeting due to town business.

Potochniak first petitioned Akshar, Broome County Executive Jason Garnar, Sotak, Schaffer and Lupardo through an online petition posted on change.org.

As of Monday, the petition had 2,539 signatures.

During the presentation, Potochniak admitted he didn't expect the petition to gain the traction that it did.

"That's basically why I went ahead and did this," he said of the meeting. "To bring attention to it again."

The meeting began with a presentation by Potochniak, followed by a discussion of the potential project.

In a PowerPoint presentation, Potochniak argued that the goal of the bridge should be to provide a connection between Vestal and Endwell, provide an interchange to I-86 and provide a pathway for all forms of transportation between the two communities.

“This isn’t just about getting from Endwell to Vestal, or just about getting to Vestal from the highway. But it helps economically, too. There’s some very important economic issues,” he said during the presentation, which lasted just over 30 minutes.

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Local officials listen to Robert Potochniak, a licensed real estate broker at EXIT Realty in Vestal, pitch for the created of Vestal - Endwell Gateway Bridge.(Photo: Maggie Gilroy / Staff photo)

Following the presentation, Potochniak opened the meeting up to conversation and discussion.

During the discussion, local officials agreed that the bridge would be costly and not solve the most pressing traffic problems in the area.

"There's so many challenges there that would make this bridge a very challenging and expensive bridge to build," Williams said.

"Studies would have to be conducted before even beginning the project," he told Potochniak.

“People can get here. People can get here from Endwell," he said. "They just have to take 10 minutes longer than they would if they had a direct shot.”

During the discussion, Akshar said he is committed to keeping an open mind, but estimated the bridge would cost about $100 million and not benefit all of his constituents.

"We are ranked 49th in nation in terms of business friendliness," Akshar said. "A bridge, my friend, is not going to attract [businesses]."

Akshar said, when he evaluates "wants vs. needs," this bridge is not a need.

"There is no way I could ever look myself in the mirror and try to advocate for an up to $100 million project like this, thinking that this was needed in this community," he said. "It is more of a want."

Throughout the discussion, Potochniak remained steadfast and passionate in his belief that the community should invest in the bridge now, and not put it off for the future.

Despite the pushback, Potochniak felt the meeting was productive and hopes to see results in the future.

"We all agree that there are a lot of difficulties to overcome, be it physical or financial," Potochniak said following the meeting. "So, it's a matter of looking forward. If we want to be a community again that's growing and providing for our community these are things we have to look at."